files go

Google introduced its smart file manager back in November 2017 as "Files Go," though the Go moniker has since been dropped in favor of a more simple "Files by Google." In a little over 14 months, Files by Google has managed to get over 100 million downloads on the Play Store, which is pretty impressive for a file manager.

Google has been steadily updating its first-party apps to its "Google Material Theme" — which most of the internet continues to call Material Design 2, much to Google's apparent chagrin. The latest addition is Files Go, which has both a new look and a new name to go with it. The beta version of the app has both the stereotypical, mostly-white design, and it now just goes by the name of "Files."

Sideloading and sharing APKs are widespread behaviors in our world. With software getting larger and larger, many users can not afford to find a connection stable enough or cheap enough to download several apps and games they'd love to try out. But if their friends already have those, then it's a simple matter of getting the file over from one device to another. Google knows and has been working to make the process as safe as possible, to avoid installation of harmful apps.

That's where the "distributed by Google Play" metadata announced in June comes into play. The protection feature started rolling out two days ago, and while Google said that it was live in SHAREit and coming later to its own Files Go, it appears to already be working in the latter.

Last December, Google announced a change to APKs uploaded to the Play Store that would insert a bit of security metadata in order to verify the provenance of these files. The "distributed by Google Play" metadata was made official this June, and although there was a lot of uproar about it being akin to DRM, the truth was a little far from that. Now, the Android Developers blog has announced the fruits of this whole ordeal: Play-sanctioned peer-to-peer app sharing is a reality.

Most of Google's "Go" apps are limited to devices running the Go edition of Android. However, Files Go is available on all devices. It helps you clear out old data to keep your phone lean, and it's getting an update today. There are a couple of notable changes, but most importantly, Google is paying some attention to offline file transfers with a new sharing tab and faster transfers.

April Fools' day is almost upon us, but each year at least a few companies are unable to restrain themselves, pushing out their pranks early as the remainder dribble out over the day itself. Google's various divisions do some decent work each year—last year's Google Gnome was itpretty good, and the Maps team's 2014 Pokemon prank was memorable. OnePlus even has a history of pulling off a decent prank. But, there are a ton of individual companies and gags to follow.

It can be tough keeping track, so let us handle the work while you enjoy the jokes.

Files Go is one of the few "Go" apps that Google has not restricted to phones running the Go Edition of Android. You can install it on any phone, and there are a few new features available today. We saw at least one of these features in the recent beta release, but Files Go now officially has file search and more options when removing unneeded items.